Asia

Unsafe at Sea: Asia’s History of Deadly Ferry Disasters

The sinking of the Costa Concordia raises critical questions about maritime safety. The issue is particularly important in parts of South and East Asia, where millions of people rely on often poorly maintained ferries to get around. They brave bad weather and overcrowding, usually because there is no other option. Here are six examples of Asian sea-voyages gone wrong through the decades.

  • Share
  • Read Later

Teratai Prima — Indonesia, 2006

By Jan. 20, 2012
REUTERS / Yusuf Ahmad

A rescue team searches for victims of sunken ferry "Teratai Prima" off Sulawesi island January 14, 2009.

An estimated 250 people died when stormy weather sank this ferry in the Makassar Strait off West Sulawesi. As with so many ferry disasters in Asia, the passenger list did not correspond to witness accounts of overcrowding on board. Indonesia, a nation of 17,000 islands, 235 million people, sandwiched between the Pacific and Indian oceans and with the second longest coastline in the world after Canada, has been a frequent victim of deadly ferry disasters.

Next MV Doña Paz — Philippines, 1987

Full List